And yet the ladies had only left the dining-room a few moments when Bruce Wylie revealed a very different side of himself.
“Ewart’s little girl is looking prettier than usual tonight,” he remarked, as he picked out the preserved apricots from a small dish in front of him, leaving only bitter oranges and citrons for those who might come after.
“Yes,” said Sir Matthew, “Southbourne has done wonders for her. She had better have another six months there.”
“Was she not eighteen in the autumn? She will want to come out next season.”
“I don’t think it,” said Sir Matthew. “She is happy enough there, and we shall do well to keep her from the heiress-hunters till she is safely betrothed to you.”
“Poor little soul!” said Bruce Wylie, reflectively. “There would be no danger in letting her see a little of the world first.”
“We won’t risk that,” said his companion. “What’s to prevent her falling in love with some young fellow and refusing to look at you. If she ever lost her heart, she would be the veriest little shrew to manage—there would be no taming her. We might prevent her marrying till she was of age, but you know what revelations would come about when her affairs were looked into. No, no; she must be safely married to her worthy solicitor, Bruce Wylie, as soon as possible after she leaves school.”
Bruce Wylie seemed lost in thought. Sir Matthew watched him, half-suspiciously. They were friends and confederates, but the company promoter trusted no one in the world implicitly.
“You are thinking that it is a risky venture,” he said, quietly, “but under the circumstances it’s far the best thing that can be done. If the South African affair goes on as well as it promises, her money will be safe enough in the long run; and if a smash comes, why her money will be gone, but our names and reputations will be safe, and no great harm will come of it.”
“I was not thinking of that,” said Bruce Wylie. “There’s another side to the business, and one can’t altogether overlook it. I am fond of the little thing, and I honestly believe she likes me, but if anything of this should ever leak out, if, after we were married, her suspicions were roused, why then, as you say, I can imagine that the taming process might be difficult. Spite of her china-blue eyes, there’s a pretty spice of determination in Ewart’s little girl.”